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Texas girls get Cut Off, again

Erica Rose — Houston socialite and reality show veteran — has some advice for the new batch of brats on the second season of You’re Cut Off.

“You really have to ignore the negative criticism, because there can be a lot of it,” she says.

Rose was a contestant on The Bachelor: Rome and VH1’s inaugural season of You’re Cut Off, which aims to rehabilitate rich, ridiculously spoiled women with a series of chores, challenges and counseling (courtesy remarkably calm life coach Laura Baron).

“For me, reality TV has become about communicating a message. It has to be about more than 15 minutes of fame, and I think that is how I’ve stayed in the reality TV world for awhile,” she says. “It may sound cheesy, but use it to help and improve the world.”

The new season features Nadia Atiqi, 21, a single mom from Katy who’d rather spend time clubbing; and Houston girl Aimee Johnson, 27, who lives by the motto “Do not do for yourself what others can do for you.” (Seriously.)

Last week’s premiere episode boasted no shortage of high-end ridiculousness, from “plus-sized princess” Marci to wine-swigging Jenn who was, in a hilarious twist, arrested for DUI in West Hollywood the night the show premiered.

The girls were lured onto the camera with a fake premise: Hollywood’s Next It Girl. But the ruse was quickly revealed. They scoffed at their modest new home, refused to clean a toilet and recoiled in horror at a dirty refrigerator. (High-end brat Shakyra insisted there was mold in the freezer and walked her high heels and minidress off the show.)

Both Texans agree that the hardest part of the journey was — surprise — getting along with the other girls.

Johnson, who lives in the swanky CityCentre area with her mother, was quickly revealed as the show’s short fuse. Plate-throwing and shoving ensued during what is now referred to as — the baked potato incident. A teaser for the entire season caught her in full-on hair-pulling mode. (Snap!)

“I really don’t like fighting,” Johnson says. She was born in Terrell, spent time in San Antonio and Corpus Christi — where she was kicked out of junior college for, um, fighting — and moved to Houston in 2003.

“I’m really calm and collected. I can use my words just as well as anyone else, but when you put your hands on me, you better be ready to go. It’s not going to end well for you.”

You’ve been warned. Johnson works as a recruiter for a staffing company but has wrecked eight cars in nine years, all paid for by mommy. (“That’s still a sore spot.”) But there is hope. She plans to move out on her own at the end of this month.

“If we go down a list of stuff I owe my mom, she’s going to be a millionaire in a matter of minutes,” Johnson says.

“I’ve learned to take my time and think things through. Even the baked potato incident — that could have definitely been avoided.”

Jason Willheim

Nadia thinks chores are “an adventure.”

Atiqi was initially “appalled” that her parents signed her up for the show. She seemed on the verge of tears during the first episode. But she claims to have taken it in stride and eventually settled into a groove.

“TV is TV. It’s entertainment. Everything that I said was true. I was sincere. I really loved it,” she says.

“I didn’t take it serious at first. But then after maybe the second or third week, I realized this isn’t a joke. I really do have to buckle down and get it through my head that there are some things in life I need to change. And if this is the way I have to go to see it, so be it.”

Atiqi’s parents own D’Elegance Salons & Day-Spas in Katy and Houston, and pre-show, the young mother frequently took advantage of the free services. But now, she plans to save money, go back to school and eventually take over the business, with dreams of turning it into a resort. (All those things, of course, are pending.)

“I help my parents out a lot more. I actually have a little chore board in my house. It reminds me of the show,” Atiqi says. “When we had to do chores, that was something exciting to me. It was like an adventure. I loved going on challenges and learning lessons.”

Her daughter turns 2 in April, and Atiqi says the show helped her cope with her single status after being left at the altar by her boyfriend of four years.

“I never thought I would be mom and dad. I would go out on the weekend, and I would act like that wasn’t my life, to kind of get away from the sadness,” she says. “This show really opened up my eyes. I think I went through the deepest (change).”

Since her own stint on the show, Rose has stayed busy. She has one more year left to earn her law degree at the University of Houston, returns to The Bachelor soon for a reunion show and plans to film a workout DVD. She’ll also appear on You’re Cut Off later this season as a mentor during a dress-for-less challenge.

“There are a lot of strong personalities this season, so it should definitely be interesting,” Rose says. “It doesn’t matter how much you spend on clothes. It’s more about how they look on you, and more expensive does not always mean better.”

But for all her newfound knowledge, Rose still admits to some past weaknesses.

“I still have a maid that comes twice a week. Cleaning is just something that I will never be good at,” she says. “I took off my fake nails and eyelash extensions, but I still have my hair extensions and like to occasionally go into our med spa, Utopia, and get Botox. However, my dad has ‘cut me off’ from getting anything else done, and I think that’s probably a good thing.”

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.